At age six, Jennette is with her family opening up her birthday present. She attempts to open the gift without ripping the paper because her mother likes to save the paper. She observes each of her family members, reflecting on their personalities and relationships: her three brothers, her nosy and dramatic grandmother, her ice cream-loving grandfather, her constantly fighting parents.

She turns her attention to her mother: “Mom’s watching me and I’m watching her and that’s how it always is. We’re always connected. Intertwined” (12). She doesn’t like her gift, but Jennette dutifully performs excitement for her mother.

Two hours later, she is at a small party thrown for her with other children from her Mormon church, and still keeps her attention on her mother. Just before she blows out her candles, she thinks about how her mother is a stage four cancer survivor who constantly talks about her diagnosis and possibility of relapse. As Jennette blows out her candles, she wishes that her mother will live another year.

Jennette sits on the counter as her mother does her hair, trying her best to behave. Her mother gets into an angry phone argument with Jennette’s father about him coming home late.